REIT Lemmings Jump Off a Cliff

We are watching the REITs today as sellers continue to sell them off–they are a hated segment of the marketplace right now.

In particular we are watching Independence Realty Trust (NYSE:IRT) as it hit $9.56 a few minutes ago with a current yield of just over 7.50%. Only a couple of days ago it was selling around $10.10 with a yield of 7.07%.

If this selloff goes below $9.50 we are going to take a starter position (maybe 500 shares) as it will hit a current yield that is fairly tasty. While IRT isn’t the best apartment REIT it is by fair the most undervalued. The company is through a recycling of “C” class apartment communities into “A” and “B” properties which should bode well for the future.

REITs as a whole hit new 52 week lows today as the 10 year ticked 2 basis points higher. It is amazing to watch Realty Income (NYSE:O), Kimco (NYSE:KIM) and Tanger Outlets (NYSE:SKT) hit new lows. KIM is now yielding 6.67% and SKT is yielding 5.52%. These are on our watch list. The only question is when to buy–these are really solid companies that are unlikely to be affected either by interest rates or consumer preference in a major sort of way–but the market does what it does regardless of what we think.